In March this year (2025) I was working away on this small acrylic painting of Bonnie the miniature schnauzer dog sitting at a beach in county Galway. She is pictured here watching over her owner Joanne who is swimming in the sea. Joanne, my client, asked me to paint this image for her husband. It is his favourite photo of her and Bonnie and she thought it be a nice idea for a birthday present for him.
The painting small in size at 40 x 20 cm. This created an intimate recreation of the photo. I used small brushes to get the portrait just right, flat brushes for all of the painting at first. For final details, I used a small round brush on areas I wanted to be detailed more including Joanne’s face and the water around her and of course Bonnie.
Joanne was very pleased with the finished painting:
Hello Ivana! Thanks for the image – It’s looks great!!!
Joanne on the finished painting of her and her pet mini schnauzer dog Bonnie, Ballinasloe, county Galway, March 2025
I had one photograph to recreate. It was simple yet very striking. I loved painting this image. The black silhouette of the schnauzer’s body and her side head profile playing against the bright blues and greens of the water were very inspiring.
I wanted to capture the striking blues and turqouise of the water which played so beautifully against the golden sand of the beach. Joanne, the swimmer, created a great sense of depth in the painting especially with the black silhouette of her beloved pet schnauzer dog.
I started the portrait with a detailed line sketch in yellow ochre. Joanne’s face was very small in the painting, so I spent some extra time making her look right. I moved on to adding colour to the background and the overall painting, in blocks at first, and then in a few well thought out layers.
I added extra coats of paint around the main focus of the painting, around Joanne and Bonnie. I didn’t want to detail the sand and the distant sea too much to create a little more depth and perspective.
The finished painting was then scanned on my scanner here in my studio. I emailed the image to Joanne for approval. She was very happy with the result. I added two thin coats of satin UV varnish to keep the painting looking fresh and dust free for a long time. I posted the painting to Joanne’s home in Ballinasloe in county Galway unframed.